1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a slide for moving heavy office files, furniture and equipment, for example, during the installation of modular carpet.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Modular carpet is designed to be installed in occupied office areas with furniture and equipment in place. During installation, furniture and equipment is moved a short distance or lifted while the old flooring is removed and squares of new modular carpet installed. The office furniture and equipment is then slid or lowered into place, permitting installation of a new carpet without breaking down work stations, disrupting telecommunication or computer hookups and avoiding business interruption.
A filing cabinet, particularly lateral or fire resistant filing cabinets, are too heavy for a man to lift and very difficult to slide with some cabinets weighing 2,000 pounds or more. Such office equipment is usually moved with a hand truck, four wheel dolly or the like and takes a crew of men. The work is hard, injuries occur and labor expensive.
There are coasters for use under furniture legs to prevent denting the carpet or flooring and there are slides, primarily for home or residential use, for use under furniture legs to allow the furniture to be slid. None of these coasters or slides, however, address the problems encountered in moving heavy office furniture and equipment.
Filing cabinets are usually lined up nearly flush with a wall, spaced out only by the thickness of the cove molding. Hence the gap between the rear wall of the filing cabinet and the wall against which it sits is often no more than 1/4 to 1/2 inch, making installation of ordinary coasters and glides impracticable by simply tipping the cabinet up and back from the front.